


Boy at the Rock Show

by omgitsaddyc



Series: Cross My Heart - A Punk Rock AU [1]
Category: Dragon Quest XI
Genre: Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Music Festival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 11:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20135047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omgitsaddyc/pseuds/omgitsaddyc
Summary: Eleven's never been to a concert before, let alone a music festival. Loud music, a cute guy behind the merch stand, and pouring rain all make for an interesting first experience.





	Boy at the Rock Show

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NedrynWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NedrynWrites/gifts).

> Hey, hello everyone! This is my first posted Dragon Quest XI work, and I am so excited! I get so much joy out of reading everyone's work, so I figured I'd give it a shot. This is based off of Warped Tour (which I have never been to but always wanted to go!) I always pictured a Modern AU Erik liking pop punk and alternative music, hence this idea was born.
> 
> Feel free to drop by on my tumblr, you can find me under 'omgitsaddyc'! I love making friends :)
> 
> A personal shout-out to NedrynWrites, they have been so supportive and just an all around great person. All the hugs, this one's for you.
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL! You're wonderful. Please enjoy!

This was definitely not El’s usual scene. He’d never been to a concert before, let alone a full-blown music festival. But Jade needed someone to keep her company, and it was a chance to get out of his comfort zone, something his mother was constantly begging him to do. He followed closely behind Jade through the throngs of people, making their way towards the center of the festival. She cast a look behind her and grabbed El by the arm, pulling him along faster. They stopped in the middle of a large open area. Food trucks, merchandise stands, and several smaller stages were dotted along the edges, and a large stage stood in the middle. Jade pulled a paper out of her backpack and studied it, deciding who she wanted to see, and where they’d have to be. She began typing into her phone, saving the schedule. After a few moments she looked up and smiled.

“Alright, we’ve got some time to kill. Food or merch?”

El looked around, and decided food sounded good. They made their way over to the closest truck and grabbed an assortment of fried foods. They sat in the grass off to the side and dug in.

“So, are you gonna jump in the pit?” Jade asked between bites, cracking a sly smile. El looked at her and blinked a few times, bewildered.

“What’s the pit?” 

She shook her head lightly and laughed. “Don’t worry about it, you’d get murdered. I’ll show you later.”

El pushed the concern to the back of his mind and focused on the mozzarella sticks in front of him instead. Once they were finished they headed over to the closest merch stand, multitudes of shirts, hats, and all forms of band memorabilia displayed with shockingly high price tags. As they waited for the line to die down, Jade contemplated.

“Do you want anything?” She asked, finger to her chin in thought. 

“Forty-five dollars for a shirt? No way.” El said, shaking his head for emphasis. Jade rolled her eyes.

“It’s part of the experience, Eleven. And it supports the bands.” She said, stepping forward with the line. 

“I don’t even know who any of these bands are.” He complained. 

“Fine, I’ll choose for you.” She crossed her arms, but her hostile attitude melted as soon as they stepped up to the table. The boy across the counter didn’t look much older than him. He was shorter than El, but the height was made up with his spiked turquoise hair. He sported pierced ears, a half sleeve tattoo peeking out from under his slightly too large t-shirt, and the brightest blue eyes he’d ever seen, accentuated with a thin, messy line of black eyeliner. 

“Ah, Erik. My favorite trouble-maker.” She said. He saluted her in return.

“At your service, Ma’am!” She slapped his arm from across the table.

“You can cut that shit out. I’m not that much older than you.” He smirked and glanced behind him.

“So, what’ll it be?” Jade ordered and paid for two shirts and a bandana, much to Eleven’s protest. Erik looked at El and cocked an eyebrow, curious.

“This your little brother?” He asked. Jade snorted.

“Sort of.” She thanked him and they turned to walk out, promising Erik they’d catch him later, after his shift. Once they were out of earshot, El leaned over.

"Who was that, behind the counter? You know him?"

"Local degenerate". She said, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. "_Not_ your type." El flushed red and began to defend his question, but Jade cut him off.

“I was _kidding_ Eleven, geez. Under the getup he’s a good kid. We go back.” Jade checked her phone and grabbed Eleven’s arm, tugging him toward the main stage. A crowd had already begun forming, and they filtered in. Once the band started, a space opened up in the middle of the crowd, and people began jumping in, running around the outside, and shoving each other around. Jade nudged Eleven’s shoulder and nodded over towards the commotion.

“That’s the pit.” She shouted. Eleven watched on with horror, watching limbs and bodies flailing. Why would anyone want to do this? Jade, sensing his confusion, leaned in close to explain.

“It’s just part of the scene. It’s a place for people to just flip out to the music.” El shrugged his shoulders, to each their own. But she was right, he wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near it.

El somehow survived the first two bands with his eardrums in tact. He nudged Jade and motioned that he was going to grab some food. She waved her phone at him, the sign for “text me if you need anything”. He nodded and wedged his way out of the crowd. He took a few deep breaths once he had some personal space back. He looked around and spotted Erik, Jade’s friend from earlier. He had his head down, looking at something on his phone. He was frowning. El thought of his mother’s advice from earlier that day, “Just get out of your comfort zone for one day, dear! You won’t regret it.” He shook his head, took one last deep breath, and jogged over. 

“Hey, you’re Jade’s friend from earlier, at the shirt stand.” He called out. Erik looked up, startled. His face broke out into a grin when he saw who it was. 

“Hey, man! What’s up? Lose your sister?” El’s face colored slightly, he wasn’t some little kid. 

“No, she’s over there listening to whatever band is on now. I came out to get something to eat.” Erik snickered. 

“Beartooth. They’re decent. Food sounds great, can I come with you?” El had no idea why, but he had no intention of saying no.

“Sure, let’s go.” 

As they walked over, Erik began asking him questions.

“So are you from around here?” El nodded. After some back and forth, they found out they went to the same high school, just two years apart. Eleven was starting his senior year, Erik had barely graduated the year before. 

“I can’t believe I don’t recognize you, I feel like I would remember someone cute like you” He tipped his chin up, confident. El clammed up. He called him _cute_? He tried to push the surging butterflies in his stomach back down. After they got their food, El was certain they’d drown in the grease. He mustered up some of his own confidence and decided to ask a few questions.

“So why are you working the merch stand? Are you a groupie?” El asked. Erik laughed.

“Nope, not quite. It's free entry, I wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. That, and I get paid while doing minimal work and hearing some good music." He dipped a french fry in some ketchup and tossed it in the air before catching it in his mouth. El had no idea why, but the more time he spent with Erik the more he wanted to spend. Erik checked his phone and sprang to his feet. 

“Oh shit! We gotta go. One of my favorite bands is almost on. You in?” El had never heard of this band, but if Erik liked them he figured he’d give it a shot.

“Yeah, lead the way.”

Once they were settled in the crowd and the music began, El felt something wet hit the tip of his nose. He looked up, and sure enough it had begun raining. Erik groaned.

“Ugh, I checked the weather earlier and they said it was a chance, but that’s just my luck. Oh well, might as well make the most of it.” He said, throwing his head back. Before long the drizzle turned into a steady rain, and everyone was thoroughly soaked, along with the ground. It had turned into a mud pit.

Before he even knew what he was doing, El reached up to wipe the running eyeliner off of Erik’s cheek. He also failed to realize he had mud on his hand before it was too late. 

“Oh, you wanna play dirty? Let’s go.” Erik reached down and pressed his hands into the mud. Before El had a chance to flee, Erik had his hands on either side of his head, mud smearing into his hair. He was cackling. “There you go. That’s a good look.” He wiped the rain from his eyes and grabbed his arm, tugging him deeper into the crowd.

“Where are we going?” He yelled over the music. This song wasn’t half bad.

“The pit!” Erik shouted back. Oh no. This was not good. Erik caught his frantic expression. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I’ll take care of you.” El’s heart jumped at his smile, and just like that, he trusted him. If only Jade could see him now. She’d be furious.

Erik muscled his way through the wall of bodies and pulled El through, shoving him across the circle. El stood in place, shellshocked. People jumped around him, shoulders and elbows bumping, people slipping and sliding in the mud. He was about to back as far out of the crowd as he could, until Erik linked his arm around El’s, and began jumping around, prompting him to follow his lead. El was actually having a good time, until he felt his legs get swept from underneath him. Before he could blink he was staring up at the sky, mud seeping into every crevice of his clothing. He blinked again, and arms were lifting him up from behind, putting him back on his feet. For his stature, Erik was surprisingly strong.

“Classic rookie move, keep yourself loose. You’re less likely to get knocked down.” He yelled, still bouncing around to the music. His hair was soaked and plastered to his forehead, and he’d removed his shirt and tied it around his waist. El realized he was having a difficult time paying attention to anything else.

By the time they worked their way out of the crowd they were covered in mud up to their knees, Erik with a smudge under his eye and El with mud caked across his back and in his hair, making it stick out in several directions.

“Holy shit, that was the most fun I’ve had in awhile.” He said, catching his breath. He looked up to gauge El’s reaction and we pleasantly surprised when he saw him smiling back at him, practically beaming. Their moment was short lived as Jade ran over to them, equally soaked and muddy. She stared at Eleven like he had three heads.

“What...did you do to him?” She said incredulously. Erik shrugged.

“We jumped around in the rain. No biggie.” 

Jade scoffed. “No biggie? You’re not the one who has to explain this mess to his mother.” She flinched at El clapping his hand on her shoulder.

“It’s fine, she was the one that told me to get out and have fun. She’ll be delighted, promise.” Erik rested his hand on her other shoulder.

“Yeah, promise.” He echoed with a shit-eating grin.

“Both of you get off me before I break your arms.” She growled. They retreated immediately, giggling.

“C’mon, will some ice cream cheer you up?” Erik said, nudging her shoulder. She contemplated for a moment.

“Yes. But you’re buying.” She strode off, turning around when the boys didn’t immediately follow. 

“We’ll catch up!” Erik called, waving. She eyed him warily before turning and walking away. Once she was out of sight, Erik turned to El, his confident mask gone. He looked almost _vulnerable_. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and was amazed it still worked. He held it out to Eleven. “Would you want to hang out sometime? Preferably not in the mud and rain?” Eleven looked at him wide-eyed and slowly nodded. He took Erik’s phone, entering his contact info and hitting save. Erik looked down at the new contact and started laughing.

“Boy at the Rock Show? So you are aware of good music!” Eleven shrugged. 

“It’s technically just called ‘The Rock Show’ but I knew you’d get it” He said, his face heating up. After a few seconds Eleven’s phone buzzed, an unsaved number. 

**Unk. Number:** Hey from the other boy at the rock show. btw what’s ur real name?

He quickly saved the number and switched on the camera, holding it up to take a selfie. They both smiled wide, muddy faces and all. He sent the photo, along with a message.

**Boy at the Rock Show:** It’s Eleven, but you can call me El :) Lunch this wknd?

**Erik:** It’s a date ;)

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is interested I have a playlist for pop-punk Erik on spotify! Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think.


End file.
